Northside comes off bye week to face Hardaway

All eight teams in Region 1-4A took last week off. They start the stretch run of four straight region games on Friday night.

Cairo leads the way at 3-0 with Northside, Carver and Westover tied for second at 2-1. Hardaway, Columbus and Americus-Sumter are tied for fifth at 1-2. Shaw is last at 0-3.

Northside starts its stretch run by playing Hardaway on Friday night at Kinnett Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Northside coach Morgan Ingram said of the break in the schedule. “We needed more of a mental break than anything else.”

The Patriots, who are 4-2 overall, practiced each day last week, but Ingram gave them Friday off.

“Overall, I am pleased,” Ingram said. “If we had given up that late lead to Spencer, we would be 5-1.”

The Patriots have been inconsistent on offense. In large part thanks to the injuries to H-back/fullback Mason Banks, who was lost for the season, and senior quarterback Stephen Parker.

Parker was replaced by sophomore Bryce Valero, who has compleetd 50 of 106 passes for 597 yards and four touchdowns.

“We need to make our biggest improvement on offense,” Ingram said. “We are still too hit or miss with our offense. We have a few big plays, but we have had a hard time sustaining drives.”

Ingram said Valero is getting better as he learns the offense.

“He is young guy who is still learning our system,” Ingram said. “There have been some growing pains. But he has done a good job.”

Meanwhile, Hardaway is experiencing a turnaround under first-year coach Michael Woolridge. The Hawks are 3-2 overall and could be headed toward their first winning season since 2009.

“Hardaway is a really good football team,” Ingram said. “They have established an identity on offense. They run the traditional Wing-T right at you.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Northside comes off bye week to face Hardaway."